Seeing Green
by ForeverAnimated
Summary: When Franny’s rival starts flirting with Cornelius, what’s a girl to do? The answer: make Cornelius jealous with another boy. Of course, playing the jealousy game never works - especially when a visit from Wilbur complicates things. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1: Keeping An Eye Out

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Author's Note:

**I really shouldn't be writing this story now, especially with finals coming at my school, and I really should be focusing on those. But do you ever have it when you have a really good idea for a story and it won't let you rest until you start writing it? Well, that's what happened to me. lol.**

**Okay, this my first actual chapter MtR fic. Yay! I haven't written a chapter story in forever - and I actually plan on completing this one!**

**Kinda hate the title. I can't really think of good ones. If anybody has a better idea for the title, can you tell me in your reviews?**

**In this story, Franny is 15, Young Cornelius is 17, Wilbur is 17 (in the future), Older Cornelius is 46 and Older Franny is 44. The pairings are Frannelius and maybe a small tiny bit of Wilbur/OC.**

**Okay, the summary is pretty easy: Young Cornelius volunteers to take Franny to the Homecoming Dance, because Franny wants to prove to her rival Eloise that she can get a date. But when her plan backfires, and Eloise starts flirting with Cornelius, she starts to get jealous. That's when Franny hatches a brilliant plan to make Cornelius jealous by dragging another boy into the picture - a boy who happens to be her time-traveling future son. Will Franny end this jealousy game, or will Wilbur and Cornelius have to hatch a plan to stop this from going too far? And what's up with Wilbur and his 'friend' Alexia? Read to find out.**

**Oh, and review please?**

* * *

**Seeing Green**

**by Christian Ninja Rabbit**

**llllllllllllllllllllllllllllll**

**Chapter One - Keeping an Eye Out**

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_Robinson House - Cornelius's Lab  
__2012, Three days before the Homecoming Dance_

"I don't know what I'm gonna do, Cornelius!" Franny exclaimed, her voice filled with melodramatic despair.

Cornelius, sitting at his workbench in his lab, shifted the receiver to his other ear. "Okay, Franny. You want to explain it again, very slowly and clearly?"

"I thought it was clear the first time," Franny asked confusedly. Even though they were on the phone, Cornelius could just picture her cocking her head to the side.

"Not ... exactly," Cornelius responded, "I could barely make out the punctuation marks in those sentences. Or ... was that just one big, long sentence?"

Franny growled, "C'mon, Cornelius! This is serious!"

"I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely. The last thing he wanted to do was get Franny mad at him. He turned his lab chair around from his workbench, so he could focus on her dilemma and not be distracted by the blueprints for the Carl prototype that he had been working on for the past couple years. "I want to help. Can you tell me what's bothering you?"

He could hear Franny sigh. "Well, as you know, the Homecoming dance is coming up at our school and ... and," she paused, before blurting out, "I don't think anyone wants to go with me!"

"Oh," Cornelius said, trying to think of something encouraging to say, "I ... I don't think that's true. I mean, I'm sure many guys would ..."

"I know it's true!" Franny interrupted, "Every girl in my class was asked out already. Most girls were even asked many weeks ago! And now the Homecoming dance is in three days, and I have no one to go with!"

"Well," Cornelius took a deep breath. He had a feeling Franny wanted him to ask her, but he couldn't be sure if that was the case. It was pretty difficult to give her advice like this, especially since he knew that he would eventually marry her. "Well, why is it so important to go with someone anyway?" He asked.

She gasped in her typical, over dramatic way. "Cornelius! I'm surprised you don't know!"

"What?" He was confused. Was it something he said?

"It's the _Homecoming dance_. You're supposed to have someone to go with! If you don't," she paused, then whispered, as if she was about to give away a big secret, "it reflects badly on you as a person."

"Don't tell me that you've been listening to what Eloise Longhorn has been saying."

"I _didn't_!" She argued. Then her tone changed, "Well, I don't normally, but what if she's right about this?!" Franny's voice grew urgent.

Cornelius rolled his eyes. Eloise Longhorn was one of the most snobbiest, nosiest girls in the sophomore class. He had heard Franny complain about her often.

"Franny," Cornelius responded seriously, "You should know better than to listen to what Eloise says. She's just a busybody, who thinks she knows what's best for everybody."

"But what if she does?" Franny wailed. "What if she's right?"

"But she's not! She doesn't know what she's talking about."

"Easy for you to say," Franny accused, "You've never met her."

"Well..." Cornelius wasn't sure how to answer that one. It was true that he had never met her, since he only went to Joyce William's High School for half a day, and it was normally just to sit through the classes and tutor students during their study halls. He didn't really have to do all the work, considering how he had already graduated from college. But since he was still only seventeen, he still had to legally "go to school."

He wished that he could meet this Eloise girl though. She sounded like her specialty was giving Franny a hard time, and he hated to see her so downhearted.

"Aha, see!" Franny chirruped, "You haven't met her. So you can't say that she's not right. You can't disagree with her, Cornelius. So you have to admit that maybe she's right. Maybe I am a loser!"

"Franny, you are _not _a loser!"

"Then why can't I get a date?"

Cornelius sighed. He was having enough of this, and he decided that he would have to resort to another way of dealing with the problem, even if he really wasn't sure it would work. "Okay, Franny," he said, "If you really need a date to the dance, I guess I could ... well, what I mean to say is..." Beads of nervous sweat started to form on his forehead.

"What? What do you mean to say?" Franny asked quickly, sounding somewhat eager.

"Well, if you really wanted to... I...I could take you... to the dance..." Cornelius finally found the courage to finish.

"You would?!" Franny asked enthusiastically. "Oh Cornelius, that would be wonderful!"

"Yeah... yeah, it would," Cornelius was relieved to hear that she accepted this without a problem, and yet somehow nervous when he realized that this would technically be his first date with his future wife. Well, it would actually be his first date with _anybody_.

"That'll show Eloise!" She triumphed. "She'll see that I can get a date! She'll see that I'm not a loser!"

"Oh," Cornelius was slightly disappointed. He had hoped that Franny was accepting his invitation because she really liked him, but it seemed now that she had only accepted because she wanted to prove herself to Eloise. "Yeah, I guess that'll be good too."

"I can't wait, Cornelius! I'm really, really looking forward to it!" She suddenly paused, "Well, mom's calling me for dinner, so I'll talk to you later!"

"Okay. Bye, Franny," He said.

"Bye bye!" She sang cheerfully.

Cornelius put the phone down slowly. So, he was going on his first date with the woman that he would eventually marry. Why did he feel so uneasy? Maybe it was because she probably didn't actually _like_ him like him, but that she just wanted to have a date. But still, Cornelius reminded himself, there was time. Franny was only fifteen, and he was only seventeen. There was all the time in the world. Someday they would be together for real.

_Well, at least I can keep an eye out for her at this dance,_ Cornelius thought, _and make sure she doesn't get in any trouble._

He sighed, trying to put the Franny situation out of his head, and then continued back to work on his Carl blueprints.

* * *

_Robinson House - Wilbur's Room  
__2041_

"Little buddy, I really don't think that will solve anything," Carl tried to persuade the raven-haired teen, who was, as usual, trying to devise a crazy scheme.

"Aww, c'mon Carl, it's a perfect idea. It's practically foolproof!" Wilbur insisted, waving his skinny arms around for emphasis.

"But, let's face it," Carl replied, "planting a microchip on your friend's new boyfriend isn't really going to score brownie points with her."

"Who cares about brownie points! I just have a feeling _'Gregory_' is up to no good," he said, making a disgusted face at the mention of his friend's date.

"You know," Carl remarked wistfully, "You seem to say that about every boy that asks Alexia out."

"Well, she's one of my close friends," Wilbur defended, "I _have_ to make sure she's safe. You know, _friends_ do that for each other."

"You also seem to be putting an awful lot of emphasis on the word 'friend'," Carl pointed out with a smirk.

Wilbur suddenly laughed. "Oh Carl, you silly, silly robot! I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong. Alexia is only a friend, nothing more. What could possibly make you think that I have a crush on her?"

"I don't know ... maybe it's because you're planning on micro chipping her date?" Carl suggested.

"Okay, okay," Wilbur admitted, "So maybe micro chipping is a little extreme. But I still have to watch him and make sure he doesn't do anything to her."

"Uh-huh," Carl said skeptically, "That's very valiant of you."

"Enough with the sarcasm, Carl. This is a very important matter." Wilbur pointed out.

Carl sighed. "Why can't you just let her go out with the guy? I mean, she seems happy with him, right? Wouldn't you want what's best for her?"

"She _seems _happy with him, but that's just what she wants us to think!" Wilbur said conspiratorially.

"Now you've lost me," The robot replied.

"It's simple: he's _not_ what's best for her. Trust me, I know."

"Oh yeah, you could think of plenty of guys that would be more suitable for her, can't you? Maybe a guy like yourself?"

"Carl, we could keep arguing in circles like this, but it won't solve anything," Wilbur was getting aggravated with the robot. Why did he have to keep insisting that he liked Alexia? Why did anyone seem to think that?

"You know, little buddy, I really think you should go to your father about this. He would have better advice than me."

Wilbur snorted. "Go to Dad? C'mon. If I know him, he'll just tell me to go up to Alexia and 'talk about my feelings', or some sort of unmanly nonsense."

"I thought you said she was only a friend."

"I _said_ that is what Dad would tell me to do," Wilbur answered hastily, "Which is obviously nonsense when you consider that I don't have a crush on her."

"Obviously," Carl responded sarcastically.

"So, I just gotta watch this guy, 'cause if he does anything to her," Wilbur made a fist with his hand, and said ominously, "He will have to answer to me."

"Wilbur, isn't there an easier way? Don't you think you'd feel much better if you talked to your Dad?"

Wilbur stopped suddenly, and put his finger to his chin in consideration. "Well... maybe Dad would have some good ideas about how I can keep an eye on this guy." His brown eyes lit up. "Maybe he could help me invent some really large binoculars..."

"Actually," Carl tried to dissuade him, "that's not exactly what I had in mind..."

Wilbur wasn't listening. "Thanks, Carl! I think I'll do that then." And without warning, Wilbur sped off down the hall to his father's lab.

* * *

**So, how do you think it's going so far? Like it? Loathe it? Let me know!**

**By the way, the name Eloise came from the MtR game. lol. When you go to the school level and go up to talk to a little girl, she tells you, "My friend Eloise thinks you're cute." Now we don't know very much about this Eloise, but I'm just wondering how she even knows who you are if you haven't been there long. I figured she might be a kind of a flirt - the perfect rival for Franny.**

**And I figure that it took Cornelius a few years to work out all the bugs for Carl, and also that I needed to have him working on something while he was on the phone.**

**The name Alexia - I just made up - sounds kinda futuristic. Gregory kinda sounds like either a snobby rich boy, or a really mean boy. The kind of person Wilbur would not get along with.**

**I hope to get the next chapters up soon. Maybe when I'm done with finals.**


	2. Chapter 2: A Father's Intuition

**Author's Note:**

**YAY! Finals are over! Now I can concentrate on the best part of the year: summer vacation!**

**I'm really enjoying how well this story is going. You know, it's not really hard to get ideas for MTR fanfics. Plus, Wilbur's dialogue is just so easy and fun to write. I think you know you're doing a good job when you have yourself laughing at something you wrote.**

**Sorry, but not much happens in this chapter - but there are some pretty good lines of dialogue ... at least, I think so. Reviews will help me confirm it. So please review. So far, I only have one review. (Thank you, Cute-in-Purple. You rock!)**

* * *

**Seeing Green**

**by Christian Ninja Rabbit**

**--**

**Chapter Two - ****A Father's Intuition**

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_Robinson House - Cornelius's Lab  
__2041_

The lab door swung open with a whoosh, and Wilbur clambered noisily up the stairs to his father's lab. Cornelius, who was in the corner polishing up his old Memory Scanner, recognized his son's fast-paced footsteps instantly.

Wilbur turned the corner and entered the bright, sunny lab with the large glass windows overlooking the beautiful city of Todayland. Without even turning around, the blonde, spikey-haired inventor greeted him, "Hi, Wilbur."

Wilbur skidded to a hault, "How'd you know it was me?" He asked confusedly, taking a few steps forward.

"Father's intuition," Cornelius chuckled, and turned to face his son, wiping his hands with the towel he was holding. "So, what is it that you need?"

Wilbur faked a shocked expression. "Dad! You think that I came up here just because I _need_ something?" He laughed heartily, "Oh Dad, don't you ever consider that maybe I want to spend some quality father-son bonding time?"

"No," Cornelius answered bluntly, but with a knowing smile, "And maybe it's because I know that is not the case."

Wilbur gave in. "All right Dad, look. I kinda have a problem."

Cornelius suddenly became alert. "Wilbur! What did you do now? Will I have to call the fire department? Or the hospital?" His blue eyes narrowed, and his expression became grim. "You didn't mess up the time stream again, did you? Because if you did..."

"Dad, dad! Relax!" Wilbur rushed over to his father and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Get a grip! It's nothing like that! Besides," he added offhandedly, "The last time you called the fire department, I was ten. You know, I was immature, not like I am now."

"Uh huh, sure," Cornelius said with one eyebrow raised, and his arms crossed in front of his chest. "So, what's this about then?"

Wilbur paced to the side, talking in his usual animated way. "I need to keep a watchful eye on someone who may be up to no good." Wilbur turned around suddenly, his eyes shifting back and forth conspiratorially. "So I'll need very powerful binoculars or something. Or better yet, glasses that look like ordinary sunglasses, but are really very powerful spy glasses..."

"Whoa, whoa!" Cornelius took his son by the shoulder gently, "Slow down there, Wilbur. You want to explain what this is all about?"

"I'm just keeping a close watch on Alexia's new date, _Gre-gory_." He pronounced the name slowly, with distaste. "He's bad road. Bad road, I tell you!" He shook his finger emphatically.

Cornelius pushed his glassed up the bridge of his nose and stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm," he said, "And what would make you think he's bad road?"

"It's just..." Wilbur paused slightly. "It's just I can feel it! I can tell when a guy's no good! And he's no good!" He started to pace about the lab.

"Wilbur," Cornelius said, "A feeling is not much to go on. Have you heard anything bad about this guy?"

Wilbur stopped his pacing, and glanced back at his dad. "Well ... uh, I heard ..." He suddenly blurted out, "Okay, okay! I heard nothing bad about him! But he's new at school, so he hasn't developed a track record yet!"

"Well..." Cornelius paused. He was having a hard time giving his son advice like this. "Well, you must have heard something about him."

"I heard Alexia go on and on about him, if that counts. She talks like this," Wilbur cleared his throat and spoke in a really high-pitched girly voice, complete with fluttering eyelashes, "'Oh Wilbur, he's such a sweetheart! When I dropped my books in the hall, he bent down and helped me pick them up! Isn't he a gentleman?'" Wilbur snorted, and continued in his normal voice, "Please! It's not like_ I_ wouldn't have done the same thing if I saw her drop her books!"

"Aha!" Cornelius said suddenly, very enthusiastically, "I knew it!"

"Knew what? That the guy's a fake?" Wilbur smirked, "Glad you see it my way."

"No, no," Cornelius said, "I knew that you had a crush on Alexia. You just never wanted to admit it before."

"Here we go again," Wilbur groaned, "I do _not_ have a crush on her! I just don't like the guy she's with!"

"Look son," Cornelius responded gently, putting his hand on his son's shoulder, "There's nothing wrong with admitting that you like her. At your age, it's perfectly natural to feel attracted to..."

"Ugh, Dad! Please!" Wilbur shook his head and waved his hands. "I do not feel attracted to Alexia! That's just ... wrong!"

"No, son, it's not wrong at all. And you never know, she could feel the same way. If I were you, I'd just go up to her and tell her your feelings."

"Bingo!" Wilbur exclaimed, "I so knew you were going to say that. And why give me that advice, anyway? Is that what you did for mom?"

"Well," Cornelius hesitated, "At first, I didn't. I thought that admitting my feelings would be unmanly. But I eventually realized that it was so much better than just sitting back and keeping all these feelings inside."

"Thank you, Dr. Robinson," Wilbur quipped.

"Take my advice," Cornelius said, ignoring his son's remark, "It will be so much easier if you just explain to her how you feel."

"Well, maybe it would work, _if I felt that way in the first place_! Which I obviously _don't!_"

"All right, Wilbur," Cornelius scolded firmly, "Don't yell at me."

"Are you gonna help me or not?" Wilbur whined. "All I need is for you to invent those binocular-type things. If you can't, then just tell me."

"Sorry, son," Cornelius said, turning back to the Memory Scanner, and continuing to polish it, "I'm not going to help you embarrass yourself. Maybe you should give this guy a chance. I mean, if Alexia's happy, you're happy. Right?"

"Yeah, whatever. Thanks Dad." Wilbur grumbled, before exiting down the steps in defeat.

Cornelius stopped his work and glanced back down the stairs as his son left. _Maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on him, _Cornelius thought, _I mean, after all, I used to be a teenager. I know what he's going through._ He shook his head and sighed. _I just hope he doesn't do anything drastic, knowing him._

* * *

Wilbur continued to mutter under his breath as he walked down the lab staircase and into the hallway. "He doesn't understand. The dude's up to no good. Maybe if I could prove it..." Wilbur shook his head, shooting down that idea. "No. How could I prove it? And even if I could, Dad wouldn't want to hear about it anyway. Ugh, I really need those spy glasses - or whatever. But who, other than Dad, would be willing to help me? Who would understand? Who actually has the skills to invent something like that?"

Suddenly, Wilbur had a brilliant thought. "Of course," he smacked his forehead, "Why didn't I think of that in the first place?!"

He rushed toward his bedroom door and saw Carl inside vacuuming up the floor with the little vacuum attachments that were installed on his feet.

Carl stopped vacuuming when he saw him. "Hey, little buddy, how'd it go?"

Wilbur made a face. "Let's not talk about that. Right now, I need you to do me a little favor and cover for me."

"Cover for you?" Carl asked cautiously. "Wilbur, what are you..."

"Let's just say, I'm gonna be paying a visit to a friend who'll help me solve my problem."

* * *

**Hehe! Wilbur's got a plan. This can't be too good. XD**

**As I said before, please review. I need all the feedback I can get. If you review, I'll ... bake you cookies! With sprinkles! -pause- Okay, so I won't. But if you review, I will be very happy! XD**

**Christian Ninja Rabbit**


	3. Chapter 3: To the Homecoming Dance!

**Author's Note:**

**Yes, the next chapter is here! Thank you, thank you. Hold your applause. XD**

**I finally told myself that it was time to stop procrastinating and to get this chapter out. It's interesting to realize that I struggled with the beginning of this chapter, but I could easily write the Wilbur parts. Cornelius is hard to write when he's all by himself. I also kinda struggled with Franny's parents, because we never get to see them in the movie. And I gave them names! You'll have to tell me if you like the names I chose.**

**After you are done reading, don't forget to review! It helps so much! Thanks to all the the people who reviewed for last chapter, and kudos to those who guessed what Wilbur's plan was.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Seeing Green**

**by Christian Ninja Rabbit**

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**Chapter 3 - To the Homecoming Dance!**

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_Framagucci Residence - Front Porch  
__2012, Day of the Homecoming Dance_

_I'm such a loser, _Cornelius berated himself. _All I have to do is reach out and ring the doorbell. That's all I have to do. _Slowly, he reached out his hand and then withdrew it quickly, growling in frustration. _Why isn't this easy?!_

Cornelius Robinson realized that he must be quite a sight - out in the crisp, cold autumn air dressed in his black tux, standing on Franny's front porch trying to work up the courage to simply ring the doorbell.

_I've got this far, _he encouraged himself. _I can do this. I can make it through this night._

Taking a deep breath, he concentrated on the small doorbell. His shaking hand went out, his finger resting on the doorbell. He counted to three silently, then firmly and quickly, he pressed the button.

A wave of nausea hit him instantly, and he had a sudden desire to dart down the street to where he parked the car, which Bud and Lucille had let him borrow for the evening. But his feet remained firmly planted to the ground, and his body forbade him from moving a muscle. He suddenly felt hot and sweaty, as he began to wonder who would answer the door. Would it be Franny? Would it be Gaston and Art, wanting to tease their younger sister? What if it was Franny's parents? How would he address them? Sir and Ma'am? That seemed kind of formal. Mr. and Mrs. Framagucci? That seemed kind of plain. He wanted to impress them. He wanted to assure them that he was responsible and respectful. But at the same time, he didn't want to overdue it. There were a million and one ways that he could screw this up.

Suddenly, he became aware of soft footsteps ... coming closer and closer. The front door creaked open, and Cornelius gulped inaudibly. There in front of him stood the Framaguccis - Mr. Framagucci with his thick, wavy black hair, dressed in a business suit, and Mrs. Framagucci, her brown hair back in a clip, dressed in a skirt and blouse.

Cornelius immediately tried to say something. He opened his mouth, but all that came out was, "I ... er...eee...uh..."

Fortunately for him, his rambling was hardly noticed by Franny's parents. Her mom was the first to speak.

"Oh look, honey," She said in a delighted tone to her husband, "Franny's date is here." She smiled a sweet genuine smile, blinked her chocolate brown eyes, and addressed Cornelius, "How are you doing this evening, Cornelius?"

The blonde teenager quickly cleared his throat, and forced the words to come so that he wouldn't look like a complete idiot. "V-very well, Mrs. Framagucci. I, uh," He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Well, Cornelius," Franny's father boomed invitingly, "Don't stand out there in the cold." He gestured toward the house, "C'mon in."

"Th-thank you, sir." Cornelius was slightly taken aback. Sure, he knew Franny's parent's fairly well, and he knew they were nice people, but he had expected to be treated a bit differently tonight. After all, he was taking Franny to her first dance. He was technically her first real date. But he was also her friend. Cornelius shook his head slightly. Maybe there really was no reason to fear. The Framaguccis probably just viewed him as their daughter's friend who was taking - no, _escorting_ her to her first dance.

Cornelius shuffled slowly into their hallway, and Franny's mom gestured toward the living room couch with her slender hand.

"Have a seat," she invited, "I'll go get Franny. She should be just about ready."

"Thank you," Cornelius responded, sitting down.

She chuckled slightly. "Oh Cornelius, there's no need to be so formal! You're a friend here. Make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back." Her blue high heels clicked against the floor as she walked away.

Cornelius breathed a sigh of relief, and ran his hand through his mass of gravity-defying blonde hair. _So far so good, _he thought, _I didn't botch it up completely yet._

Mr. Tony Framagucci, meanwhile, stood silently, studying the young man who had asked his daughter to the Homecoming dance. He was slightly relieved when he had heard that it was, in fact, her best male friend Cornelius. Tony trusted Cornelius; he was a smart boy with a good head on his shoulders, and he was motivated. Plus the fact that he had already graduated from college at his young age was quite impressive as well.

But still, Tony had to admit, this boy was two full years older than his daughter. And Franny was much to young to be going on an actual date with a seventeen year old. He had expressed this concern to his wife Angela a few nights ago, and she had reminded him that it was just a school dance, and they were just going as friends.

Franny's father regarded all this, and reasonably decided to let his daughter go. Angela had assured him, "It's not like the two of them are getting married or anything."

Cornelius shifted in his seat on the couch, fully aware of Mr. Framagucci's presence, and feeling slightly uncomfortable in the awkward silence that ensued.

Tony broke that silence. "Well, my boy, how's your family doing? Your mother works at InventCo, where you are currently an intern, am I correct?" He sat down next to Cornelius, awaiting his response.

"Yes, sir," Cornelius nodded, "She really enjoys her work there. Science has always been her favorite subject in school."

"Yours also, I'm sure."

"Yes, I enjoy it." He replied, still feeling awkward.

"I should say so," Tony nodded, "It's a well known fact that you're quite an inventor."

Cornelius looked down at the ground sheepishly. It was kind of funny how he had already developed somewhat of a reputation. He wasn't really famous, per say, but most people did know of him - mainly for the fact that he had graduated college at such an early age, and for the few things, such as the Memory Scanner, that he had actually invented. Franny's parents, of course, knew that their daughter was friends with this prodigy, but they had never really addressed him as being such. And it took Cornelius slightly off guard.

"Well," he said modestly, "I just want to do the best I can, you know. Make the world a better place through science."

"That's a good, healthy attitude to have," Tony said approvingly, resting his hand on Cornelius shoulder briefly.

"Thank you."

The awkward silence resumed. It was only a few seconds, but to Cornelius it seemed like an eternity. Then suddenly, both of the males heard a melodious feminine voice ring out. "Cornelius, she's ready!"

Cornelius stood up quickly, happy that he no longer had to sit in uncomfortable silence, and came to the stairs with Mr. Framagucci trailing behind him. That's when he saw her - gliding down the steps in a somewhat elegant fashion, her shimmery purple dress swaying around her legs gracefully. Her face looked ... different; Cornelius guessed that she was wearing makeup. She looked slightly more mature, and it took him by surprise. This was not the Franny that he was anticipating. That's when he suddenly realized that he must have been staring, and he blushed slightly.

"Hey, Cornelius!" She greeted, in her normal bubbly fashion.

"H-Hey," He responded, still slightly stunned.

She quickly bounded down the rest of the steps, and twirled around gingerly in front of Cornelius. "So, how do I look?" She asked, eagerly waiting for a response.

"Very nice. I really like the dress."

"Thank you," Franny giggled.

Cornelius blinked. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, or if she really did batt her eyelashes at him.

The two teens suddenly became aware of the presence of Franny's parents when Angela called out, "Tony, get the camera! We must take pictures."

Franny turned to her mom, rolled her eyes and sighed. "Mom, you _said_ you wouldn't fuss."

"Oh, c'mon Franny," Her mother urged. "Just one picture of you and your date." At the word "date", Cornelius felt blood rush to his cheeks.

"Mom, how many times do I have to tell you? He's just a friend who's taking me, not an actual date-date, because that would be WAY awkward." She turned to him for support, "Right, Cornelius?"

"Oh. Uh, yeah, totally." He tried to sound convincing.

Franny's mom looked slightly crestfallen, but recovered quickly. "Oh, all right. No pictures."

"Well, we'd better get going," Franny announced. She was anxious to get away from her parents as fast as she could.

Franny's father came forward, and Cornelius braced himself for the lecture that he knew was going to come. And sure enough, it did.

"Okay, you two. I'm sure you know most of the rules, but I'm going to go over them again."

"But Dad..." Franny whined.

Tony ignored his daughter's protests. "You two are going to the school dance, and nowhere else, you got that? Secondly, the dance ends at 9:00, so I expect Franny to be home promptly afterwards. If you are going to be late because of an emergency, call us. We'll be home all night."

"Yeah, yeah, Dad. We know all this. We won't be late. We'll come right home," Franny opened the door and started to nudge Cornelius out, her voice getting faster and faster as she went on, "We won't talk to strangers. We won't take candy from babies. We won't cause the second ice age, and all that stuff. Well, we really got to be going, take care of yourselves, don't miss me, bye!" She pushed him through the open door and went through herself, closing it behind her.

Once outside and out of earshot from her parents, Franny let out an aggravated groan. "Argh! Can you believe them? They treat me as though I'm a baby! I know how to handle myself. Heck, I know karate."

Cornelius chuckled at Franny's little outburst. "Franny, they're only trying to make sure you are safe. You _are_ their only daughter, you know."

"I know," she grumbled, "And they continue to remind me of that every day."

"Speaking of which," Cornelius's blue eyes darted around nervously, "Where are your brothers?"

Franny laughed. "Oh don't worry, they're not here. They went to some movie or something. I think it was the new Captain Time Travel movie." She rolled her eyes. "They're so obsessed with Captain Time Travel. I think it's pointless. Like time travel is possible, anyway."

Cornelius's blue eyes twinkled mysteriously as he remembered his whole time travel adventure when he was twelve. "You never know," he said, "Someday it might be."

"You're funny," She giggled, not recognizing the serious tone in his voice. She grabbed his arm, "Now c'mon, we don't wanna be late! It's time to show Eloise Longhorn that Franny Framagucci can get a date! Err, that is ... not a date-date, but a date as friends." She clarified.

Cornelius's face fell slightly. "Yeah, friends..." The two teens made their way to the Robinson family car.

* * *

_In Front of the Robinson House  
__2012, Same Day_

A bright flash of light suddenly lit up the twilight sky, and the blueish-green time machine landed gently on the front lawn on the Robinson Mansion. A raven haired teen was rejoicing within.

"Woo-hoo! Successful landing! Once again, Wilbur Robinson has been completely undetected." He could still feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins, and he loved the sensation. There was something utterly terrific about making it through the time stream without getting caught.

Wilbur leaped out of the time machine, and activated the time machine's cloaking device. He then drew his attention to the house in front of him. It was smaller than the house he knew, and the lawn wasn't as green. But other than that, it was the same house.

The time traveling teen paused and contemplated his next move. Should he walk right up, ring the doorbell and ask for Cornelius, or should he try and sneak into his father's lab and surprise him? Wilbur decided on the direct approach, because he didn't know for sure if his young father would be home, and what was the point of sneaking up on somebody if there was nobody to sneak up on? At least, that was Wilbur's logic.

He confidently strolled right on up, half-expecting Spike and Dimitri to pop their heads out from the flowerpots that weren't there yet. He located the doorbell - there was only one of them - and pressed it.

"Coming!" He heard a voice ring out cheerfully, which he recognized to be the voice of his Grandma Lucille.

The door opened, and Lucille stuck her head out. "Yes?" She asked.

"Hi, Mrs. Robinson." Wilbur greeted, trying to shake off the strange feeling of calling his grandmother "Mrs. Robinson". "I'm Wilbur, a friend of Lew ...er, Cornelius's."

"Oh well, hello!" Lucille bubbled with excitement. "I didn't know Cornelius had a friend named Wilbur!"

Wilbur chuckled slightly, "Well, you see, I was his friend before he got adopted. But I had to, uh ... move out of town with my family. We've been keeping in touch through e-mail and stuff. I'm in town now, and I thought it would be fun to surprise him. I found out his address through the phonebook. Is he home?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Wilbur," Lucille said sympathetically, "But he went to the Homecoming Dance with his friend Franny."

Wilbur's eyebrows went up. "Oh really?" _This is definitely interesting,_ Wilbur thought.

"Oh yes," Lucille nodded, "How long will you be in town?"

"Well," Wilbur thought quickly, "My parents said we'll be in town for a few days, but depending on what happens we may stay longer."

"Oh that's great! Then you'll be able to see Cornelius. He'll be so excited when I tell him you called." Then she grew quiet as she whispered, "He doesn't really get many visits from friends."

"Actually," Wilbur said, "I'd rather you not say anything. I'd like to surprise him." Wilbur paused, an idea formulating in his mind. "Where did you say he was again?"

"At Joyce William's High School, the Homecoming Dance." she replied helpfully.

"Okay! Thanks Gram ...er, Mrs. Robinson ," Wilbur corrected himself quickly, "It was nice talking to you."

"Are you sure you don't want to come in?" Lucille invited, "I'm baking cookies! Chocolate chip."

Wilbur stifled a laugh as visions of his future grandmother passed through his head. "No thanks," He replied, walking back toward the invisible time machine.

"Well, then, bye Wilbur!" She waved enthusiastically, "Hope to see you around."

"Oh you will," Wilbur called back knowingly.

When the doors of the Robinson house shut, and he was assured that Lucille was gone, Wilbur turned off the invisibility cloak and climbed into the time machine. He sat there planning his next move.

"Okay," he said to himself, "So, if Lewis," he paused for a moment, realizing that it was so easy to think of his younger father as Lewis, even though he knew that he was no longer called that, "...if Lewis is at the high school dance, all I need to do is go there." Wilbur was slightly concerned about interrupting something important in the time stream, but he shrugged it off.

"Dad should be happy to see his son," He reasoned to himself.

He started up the time machine and took off in the direction of the high school. "To the Homecoming Dance!" He announced to himself.

* * *

**Yeah, I chose Italian sounding names for Franny's parents. XD I figured that Framagucci is an Italian name - so Franny's family has an Italian background.**

**Review please! You will get a response each and every time, I promise!**

**Christian Ninja Rabbit**


	4. Chapter 4: Desperate?

****

Author's Note:

**I had soooo much fun writing this chapter! And it's the first chapter that I've written in only a day. I think it's also my longest chapter.**

**My only concern is that Cornelius may be slightly out of character. I don't know. I really have a hard time writing for him. Something tells me it will get easier though. I am starting to get the hang of it. Still, Wilbur and Franny are just so much easier to write for.**

**Also, Eloise makes an appearance. You'll have to tell me what you think of how I portrayed her.**

**Thanks once again to all who reviewed! Those reviews help me so much, and I'm glad that many of you are enjoying my story.**

**Not much more to say, so on with the chapter!**

* * *

**Seeing Green**

**by Christian Ninja Rabbit**

**--**

**Chapter Four - ****Desperate?**

* * *

_Homecoming Dance  
__2012_

She was so excited, she could hardly contain herself. Cornelius watched with amusement as she jumped up and down, clapping her hands together.

"Yay! We've made it! I'm so excited! My first dance ever!" Franny squealed.

They were standing outside the gym door, and Cornelius had just finished getting his hand stamped by the girl at the booth. They could both hear the loud, up-beat tempo of the music through the open door.

Franny grabbed Cornelius's wrist and dragged him forward, like a little kid about to go into a toy store with their parent. "C'mon! Let's get in there! I'm totally psyched!"

"Whoa, hold on Franny," Cornelius called, but Franny didn't hear him, and just pulled him quickly through the open gym door.

He noticed a few things at once. The gym had been decorated with a large banner that read "Homecoming Dance, 2012." There were many tables set up around the corners, and a large snack table off to the side of one wall, with red punch, chips and salsa, and many other foods. There was even a cotton candy machine and a disco ball. The school had really outdone themselves.

But he was taken slightly off guard by the many couples in the center of the gym, swinging and twirling around quickly with fancy footwork. He gulped when he noticed this. There was no doubt in his mind that Franny would want to dance to one of these fast dances. But the thing was - well, Cornelius wasn't the best dancer in the world. Then suddenly, a new thought hit him. What if Franny wanted to dance to one of the _slower_ dances? What would he say then? He didn't want to disappoint her, but he wasn't sure if he could dance at all - at least not like _that_.

Franny's voice came through over the loud music. "So, what do you think?" she asked eagerly.

He nodded. "Nice. They've really outdone themselves this year."

She giggled slightly, then gestured toward the center of the gym. "So c'mon! Let's dance!"

This was what he had been afraid of. "Uh, Franny..." Cornelius hesitated.

"What?" she asked quickly, looking slightly disappointed.

"I...um," He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, while Franny looked up expectantly, "I'm, uh...not really sure I can...uh, well...I'm not a good dancer," he admitted.

She blinked back at him, and suddenly broke out into laughter. Cornelius was hurt. _Does she really think that this is funny?_ He asked himself.

"Oh Cornelius, it doesn't matter to me how you dance! I mean, just move with the groove! It's not too hard."

Relieved that she wasn't laughing at him, he continued, "No, it's just ... I guess I feel uncomfortable about dancing ... you know, right away." A lightbulb went on in his head. "Why don't we go get some punch first, and then we can ... uh, head to the dance floor."

She sighed and playfully patted Cornelius on the shoulder. "All right, Cornelius. Let's go get us some punch." She started to walk, but then abruptly turned around and pointed a finger at him, "But let's make this clear, mister. You owe me at least one dance before this night is over. Got it?"

He saluted. "Message received, loud and clear."

"Good boy," she giggled. Then they headed to the refreshment table.

_He can be dorky, but he never fails to make me laugh_, Franny thought.

* * *

Hovering in the air, Wilbur surveyed the school below him. He could see many cars parked in the school parking lot, and many high school students were making their way toward the gym door.

"So, Grandma Lucille wasn't kidding," Wilbur told himself, "Tonight really _is_ the night of the big shindig. Wonder if Lewis and ... (argh, why am I still calling him Lewis?) ... wonder if _Dad _and Mom are there yet?"

Turning on the invisibility shield to ensure that no one would see him, Wilbur guided the time machine expertly down toward the school, deciding to land on the roof. No one would think to look up there, and if he was on the roof, he could easily climb down into one of the classroom windows and then sneak his way down to the gym undetected. Wilbur smirked to himself. If there was one thing he mastered, it was the art of sneaking.

He landed the time machine, powered down the engine, and jumped out.

* * *

"Cornelius," Franny whispered urgently into his ear.

"What?" He whispered back, blushing slightly as he noticed how close she was to him and how he could feel her warm breath on his neck.

"See that girl, over there," Franny pointed off toward the cotton candy machine at a girl who was about Franny's height, with ginger brown hair styled into a fashionable bun, dressed in very extravagant, poofy pink dress.

"Yeah," Cornelius said.

"That's her!"

"That's who?"

"Eloise Longhorn!" Franny answered. "That's the girl who said I couldn't get a date." She grasped Cornelius's hand, and said determinedly, "Let's go show her how wrong she is!"

"Uh, Franny," Cornelius whispered, "Looks like she's coming over here." He nodded back toward the girl, who was now strutting importantly in their direction.

"Oh, hello Franny," she spoke with artificial sweetness, "It's nice to see you here." Her icy blue eyes narrowed as she added with a noticeable edge to her voice, "I didn't think you'd show up."

Franny bristled. "Well, I'm here all right." She gestured toward Cornelius, "And this is Cornelius, my..."

"Oh, I know who _you_ are," Eloise said, looking past Franny and fluttering her eyelashes at Cornelius, "_You're_ Cornelius Robinson, the boy-genius, and inventor extraordinaire." Her voice lost its edge, and had become airy, almost flirty.

Needless to say, Cornelius was taken aback. Was this girl hitting on him? It was almost kind of humourous, considering that he wasn't exactly a "ladies' man".

"Well," he replied nervously, "I'm not really that...uh..."

"Yeah, Eloise," Franny piped up, "This _is_ Cornelius Robinson. And he's my ..."

"Famous people are so cool, you know," Eloise ignored Franny, but spoke directly to Cornelius, moving closer and closer to him. "And I've _never_ been this close to such a famous person."

Cornelius was getting very uncomfortable. "I'm...uh, not really famous, you see ... I'm..."

"Oh Cornelius," Eloise boldly moved out and grabbed his arm. Looking up, Cornelius could see Franny's brown eyes widen in shock. "You _have_ to let me have at least one dance with you."

"He CAN'T!" Franny spoke up loudly. She walked right up to Eloise's face. "We just got here, and we haven't had the chance to dance yet."

"Oh Franny, dear," Eloise's voice regained that artificial sweetness, addressing Franny as if she were a simple child. "It will only be for a minute or so, why would you have a problem with that? I mean, well..." she paused for dramatic effect, "I guess it _would_ be a problem if you were _that_ desperate to get a date in the first place."

Franny's nose twitched slightly, as it did when she was very mad. She was now face-to-face with Eloise, engaged in a stare-down. Cornelius realized that he better step in before this got ugly.

"Eloise, I really think it, uh ... wouldn't be fair to Franny. I promised her a dance and..."

"It's okay," Franny said quickly, not taking her eyes off of Eloise.

Cornelius blinked. "What?"

"I said it's okay!" Franny repeated, sounded urgent, but not very convincing. "You go dance. I'll just, uh, get some more punch." She didn't want Eloise getting the impression that she was desperate, so shrugged her shoulders, "No big."

Eloise seemed a bit surprised, as if she was expecting Franny to argue more. But she didn't hesitate. "Well, c'mon Cornelius," Eloise put a manicured hand on Cornelius's shoulder. "Let's dance, shall we?"

"I ... uh..." He turned to see Franny's reaction, but she had walked back to the snack table. He sighed. It would be useless to call her back, because she would just insist that she was fine. Maybe the best way to appease Franny would be to just go with it.

He thought back to when he was younger, hearing the older Franny's words echo in his mind. _"I am always right. Even when I'm wrong, I'm right."_ Maybe the older Franny had said that with this specific incident in mind. Maybe it would be best to go with it, even though he didn't want to.

He heard Eloise's airy voice speak up again, "Well, c'mon." He let her drag him out onto the dance floor. He watched as she started moving wildly about to some fast song that he didn't recognize. Then he realized that he was the only one around him who wasn't dancing, so he awkwardly started moving his feet and arms about randomly, not really paying attention to the beat.

Every now and then he scanned the gym to see if he could find Franny. He finally located her, sitting at one of the tables next to a very gothic looking girl. (Cornelius vaguely remembered her from the science fair, and believed that her name was Lizzy.) When Franny met his gaze, she gave him a cold stare, before turning her head and going back to talk with Lizzy.

_Yikes, _Cornelius thought. He started to despair, wondering if he had really botched this up.

"Oh, Cornelius!" He drew his attention back to the source of the voice: Eloise. "You don't need to be so concerned. Franny's handling herself very well. Now relax! Enjoy yourself!"

Right now, that was about the last thing Cornelius wanted to do.

* * *

At that exact moment, in the dark hallway leading toward the gym, Wilbur glanced back making sure he wasn't being followed. _As if there's anyone to follow me anyway,_ he thought to himself.

He sidled up to the gym door, and peeked through the glass window. Yup, this was the dance all right. He smirked. This would be a piece of cake. Everyone was either dancing or talking with their friends. And the dance chaperones were all huddled by the snack table. He would just stroll right in through the doors and no one would notice. Then he would just have to find Lewis. He smacked his forehead. Would he ever get used to calling Lewis his father? Why did it seem like they were two separate people?

Wilbur's mind returned to the task at hand. He squared his shoulders. "Well, it's now or never," he told himself. And with that he casually walked into the gym.

He cheered silently to himself when he realized that his plan had succeeded and no one saw him. He took a few steps closer, looking about the gym confusedly. Where would his dad be? He immediately ruled out the dance floor. _Like I can really see Dad dancing_, he thought sarcastically.

Unfortunately, as he took a few steps closer, he felt eyes on him. He glanced back, and noticed a group of girls gathering around, whispering to each other and giggling. He rolled his eyes and walked on.

But it didn't stop. As he walked past another girl seated at a table, he saw her look up at him. She smiled and waved shyly. Wilbur waved back confusedly. What was everyone's problem? Was it so completely obvious that he was not from this school? Not from this town? Not from this decade even? He turned back to the girl, who was still smiling and waving, until the boy she was seated next to tapped her on the shoulder, and gave Wilbur a nasty glare.

_Her date?_ Wilbur wondered. Realizing that he didn't want to get involved, Wilbur simply smiled nervously and walked on.

_C'mon, Dad! Where the heck are you?_

* * *

"Why would she do that?" Franny asked Lizzy after explaining the whole Eloise situation.

Lizzy replied in a low, morbid voice, and Franny had to strain to hear her. "She's a life-ruiner. I ought to sic my fire ants on her."

"Oh, I don't know," Franny replied, "Maybe it is my fault. I mean, why should I let it bother me the way it does? I'm not desperate. In fact, I should prove it! I should get another guy to dance with me, so I can show her that I'm not desperate!"

"You said everyone else in your class had dates," Lizzy pointed out glumly. She didn't really know why she was talking to this girl, but she didn't really mind. Franny was an okay person, or so she had heard.

"Well..." Franny considered for a moment. "I'll figure something out. I'll..."

"Franny, Franny!" A young girl came rushing up to her, shouting her name. "You'll never guess what..."

"Tara," she addressed her somewhat close friend, "Can't you see I'm in the middle of a dilemna? I..."

Tara interrupted her. "This is important! I just saw this really, really hot guy a few minutes ago!" She gushed.

Lizzy, upon hearing this, rolled her eyes and turned her face toward the wall.

"So?" Franny asked impatiently. "Don't you have a date already?"

Tara sighed. "I wish I didn't. Josh is such a jerk." Then she perked up, and resumed talking in her fast, flighty manner. "But this guy, the one I was talking about, I smiled and waved at him, and he waved back!" She squealed.

"Does he know you or something?" Franny asked suspiciously.

"I've never seen him before in my life." Tara replied, "I'm pretty sure he doesn't go to this school. He kinda looked like he was looking for someone. Also, he totally stands out. Wasn't dressed up. But, I mean, he was dressed nice..."

"Wait a minute," Franny interrupted, "You said he doesn't go to this school?"

"Yup, I'm pretty sure," Tara nodded vigorously.

Franny quickly thought back to her problem about getting a guy. _Maybe if I could get this mystery guy to dance with me, it would prove that I'm not desperate. Or, _she thought to herself, her brown eyes closing as she imagined the possibilities, _Maybe Cornelius will even be jealous. Maybe he will try to impress me more. Maybe I can..._ Franny stopped these thoughts quickly. All she wanted to do was show up Eloise. That was it. She didn't like-like Cornelius, so why make him jealous? Well, at least, she didn't think she like-liked Cornelius _It would still be fun to see him jealous..._ she concluded.

All of the sudden, Tara started squealing and pointing frantically. She grabbed Franny's arm. "Look, look, look! Franny! There he is! Isn't he sooo cute?"

Franny's eyes followed upward to where Tara was pointing. That's when she saw him. Tall, black pointy hair. He was wearing a blue t-shirt with a lightning bolt, jeans, and black converse shoes. When he turned around, Franny got a good look at his face.

She had to admit. He was kind of cute. She had never seen him before, but his face did look sort of familiar...

* * *

**Dun dun dun! And that's where I shall leave you hanging! XD I'm evil, right?**

**I don't know how many noticed but the characters Josh and Tara are minor characters from the show _Kim Possible._ I like to reference that show as often as I can in the things I write.**

**And about Wilbur and the ladies... lol. Well, I figured that he obviously will stand out - especially if everyone is in really fancy clothes, and he's just in his Captain Time Travel shirt and jeans. I figure that the girls in the past probably find him "hot", but I don't know if he has that kind of luck with girls in the future. (Probably not, if he's so worried about Alexia...) XD**

**And yes, I still hold on to my belief that even though he's only seventeen, Cornelius is still somewhat famous. At least, most people recognize him.**

**So, don't forget to drop a review! Again, you will get a response, and I'm eager to hear from you!**

**Christian Ninja Rabbit**


	5. Chapter 5: A Family Reunion?

**A/N -** I have absolutely no idea why this chapter took so dang long to write. Oh well, at least it's up now. And I think it's probably one of the funnier chapters.

Just for clarification. Franny is NOT in love with Wilbur. She wants to use him to make Cornelius jealous (but she doesn't want to admit that she's using him for that - she says she just wants Eloise to think she has a guy.) I hope I clarified that better in this chapter.

* * *

**Seeing Green**

**--**

**Chapter Five: A Family Reunion?**

* * *

"This should not be this hard!" Wilbur muttered to himself quietly. His brown orbs darted around wildly, searching for his teenage father. The teen put his fingers to his chin, contemplating his next move.

"You'd think he'd be hanging out by the snack table, or leaning against the wall. Maybe he's hiding in the bathroom...?"

"Hey, there." A feminine voice from behind interrupted Wilbur's thoughts. Whirling around, he found himself face-to-face with a young black-haired girl in a purple dress.

Wilbur nodded curtly and gave a brisk, "Hi," before turning around again and walking away, rolling his eyes. Why did annoying girls always have to interrupt him while he was on important missions?

Franny snorted to herself as she watched the black-haired boy walk away. _How rude, _she thought. She considered dropping the whole thing and giving up, but stopped when she glanced back over towards the dance floor. She immediately spotted Eloise, dancing wildly, laughing loudly and fluttering her eyelashes at Cornelius, who was looking quite uncomfortable.

_How dare she! _Franny glared at the dancing duo. _He was my date, and she just goes and parades off with him! And then she acts like I shouldn't be bothered by it! _She turned tail and stormed off in the opposite direction, her high heeled shoes clicking against the gym floor angrily. But then she slowed and glanced back toward them, with a solemn expression on her face.

_That's just the thing._ _Like Eloise said, I shouldn't be bothered by it._ Franny looked down at her shoes and sighed. _I guess I really am desperate._

Quickly her head shot up as she glanced back toward the rude pointy-haired boy. _Then I've just got to let her think that I'm not desperate! Who cares if he's rude? I can get him to dance with me. I don't really like him; I'll just use him._

Franny was somewhat troubled that she was thinking these thoughts. She wasn't the type of girl who intentionally wanted to hurt people that she didn't know. But her mind was made up. Sidling through the crowd, she made her way back to the boy.

Wilbur, meanwhile, casually approached the snack table, pretending that he wanted to get a glass of punch, while looking around for Cornelius. Turning around, he noticed that the annoying girl was back, and she was standing right next to him, her soft brown eyes looking up at him expectantly.

"I don't believe I caught the name," Franny asked politely, glancing into the eyes of the stranger - eyes she was sure that she had seen somewhere before.

"Are you talking to me?" Wilbur asked, slightly annoyed.

"Yes. That's all right, isn't it?" Franny fluttered her eyelashes slightly, hoping that would get him.

Wilbur first instinct was to respond with, "No, it isn't," but he decided that would be really be pushing it. "Well, I guess..." he finally said reluctantly.

"I've never seen you around here before. Are you new?" She asked sweetly.

"Uh, yeah," Wilbur answered carefully. "Well, actually, I'm just visiting a, uh..." He paused, catching sight of Cornelius who, much to Wilbur's surprise, was out on the dance floor.

Franny was getting slightly impatient talking to this guy, especially because it seemed like he was getting distracted and looking somewhere else. But instead of showing her annoyance, she politely said, "You seem to be looking for someone."

"Actually, I am," Wilbur brushed past Franny, "Now, if you'll excuse me."

"Wait!" Franny blurted out, seizing him by the arm, "I ... I still haven't caught the name."

"It's Wilbur - Wilbur Robinson," he answered quickly, hoping he could pull away.

Franny gasped slightly, tightening her grip on Wilbur's arm. "Robinson? Any relation to Cornelius Robinson?"

_Shoot! _Wilbur thought to himself, realizing that he shouldn't have given his last name. He quickly covered his tracks. "No, you misheard me. I said my name was Wilbur Ro_bert_son."

"Oh," Franny's face fell slightly, then she looked thoughtful, "Hmmm, Wilbur, huh? I've always liked that name."

"Glad to hear it," Wilbur said sarcastically.

Franny ignored his caustic tone and continued, "So, you're from out of town? I think that's pretty cool." She forced an out-of-character school-girlish giggle. "Are you enjoying it here so far?"

"Not particularly," He glanced back up and tried to relocate his father, who had become lost in the crowd of dancers once again.

"Oh, that's a shame," Franny replied apologetically. "Do you miss your hometown?"

"I guess you could say that," Wilbur was becoming more and more aggravated with this girl. Why was he wasting his time with her?

"Well, I'm sure you'll fit in here well," Franny murmured.

"Listen girl, I'm pretty sure that I'll do anything but fit in here." Wilbur replied bluntly, clearly showing his annoyance, "Now could you please let go of my arm before you completely cut off my blood circulation?!"

But Franny was determined to not let go. "Look Wilbur, before I let you go, I need a favor."

"Why should I do a favor for you? I don't even know you, annoying little girl!"

Franny growled, her sweet voice completely leaving. "Don't call me 'annoying little girl!' I have a name - Franny Framagucci!"

Brown eyes widened in shock.

"And you're going to do this favor for me and not sass me, because I know karate! And if you don't do what I ask, I'll demonstrate some of my moves on you!" She grabbed his wrist with both hands and pulled him down so that he was eye level with her. "Got it, Mister?"

Wilbur said nothing. He just gulped.

"Good boy," she said, reaching up and patting him on the head as if he were a dog. "Now, I want you to dance with me, and pretend you really like me."

"What?!" Wilbur exclaimed. He was still trying to get over the shock that he was talking to his future mom, and now she unloaded this zinger on him.

"Listen!" She whispered urgently, "I'm just trying to make someone jealous! Or ... well, not make anyone jealous - just to prove something. Now, come on!"

Before Wilbur could say anything else, Franny whisked him onto the dance floor.

"Woo hoo! Wasn't that fun, Cornelius?" Eloise asked. She had been dancing so hard that her forehead was looking unattractively moist with sweat, and she was slightly out of breath.

"Yeah, sure. Real fun," Cornelius mumbled unconvincingly.

"What's the matter, Corny? Why so glum?" Eloise purred.

That's when he decided to put his foot down. "Look, Eloise. I had a good time, really, but I really think that I should find Franny." He brushed past the ginger-haired beauty, before adding, "And can you not call me 'Corny' again?"

To say Eloise was taken aback would be an understatement. She blinked in shock. No boy had _ever_ turned her down like that before, and she wasn't about to let him get away with that. She pushed through the crowd and tried to catch up with him.

"Wait up, Corny," she called out.

"Franny," Cornelius caught sight of his raven haired friend scampering toward the dance floor, dragging someone (he couldn't see who) by the wrist. She jerked her head up in recognition of his voice, then she released her grip of whoever it was she was pulling and darted forward to him.

"Cornelius!" She sounded excited. Then she blinked, and cleared her throat. "Ahem, I mean - Cornelius." She said very formally.

"I'm sorry about dancing with Eloise. I mean, uh, what I'm trying to say is..."

"Cornelius!" A loud annoying voice rang through the air behind him. He winced. _Great, just what I need..._

Eloise pranced over to Cornelus, her head up high. "Well, I see you got reunited with Franny," she sneered at the young girl, "What's the matter, Framagucci? Couldn't handle being separated from your inventor friend for two minutes?"

"Hey!" Cornelius had enough. "No one talks to her like..."

Franny immediately got between them. "No, no! It's alright, Cornelius." Then she turned toward her rival, "As a matter of fact, _Eloise_, while you two were dancing, I met the nicest boy."

"What?" Eloise asked in disbelief.

"What?!" Cornelius nearly shrieked. His mind was already imagining the worst possibilities. Franny going gaga over somebody else, completely ditching Cornelius as a friend, and setting the entire timestream into chaos. _All because I had to dance with "pretty girl" here,_ Cornelius thought, _I could kick myself!_

"Yes, you heard me," Franny repeated, "I met the nicest boy, and he's..." She turned suddenly, and freaked when she saw that he wasn't behind her. "...not behind me. Oh no! Where did he go?" she said to herself.

"Assuming that there is a guy to begin with," Eloise muttered. "Nice try, Framagucci."

Franny heard Eloise's remarks and turned around sharply. "There is a guy!" She nearly shouted. "And he's ..." she quickly scanned the crowd and spotted him, "...right there! I'll be right back!" She scampered away, leaving Eloise and Cornelius behind.

"Oh Corny, I must know, how could you stand to be friends with such a juvenile girl such as Franny. I mean, seriously, making up imaginary guys? That's so Pre-K."

Cornelius felt his face getting hot. He glared at her, and growled through gritted teeth, "Listen here, I have had enough of ..."

"Eloise, Cornelius," Franny addressed them, "Meet Wilbur!"

Cornelius whirled around. His blue eyes widened and his mouth hung open as he saw his friend Franny standing right next to a familiar pointy-haired boy.

Wilbur's brown eyes widened at the sight of his future dad. _That's it. _He thought to himself. _I'm dead._

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Heehee! Again, I'm being very evil. XD

Please, please, please review! You don't know how much it helps! D


	6. Chapter 6: The Robinson Duo

**A/N - **Wow, how long has it been?! Seriously! I apologize to my readers for the unnecessary delay. I guess life was getting pretty busy and somewhat hectic lately. From school concerts, to two of my best friends leaving my school, fanfiction hasn't been the first thing on my mind. Thanks for sticking with me though, and thanks for all the reviews you guys have been leaving. Sorry I haven't had the chance to answer you back, but I'm thanking you all now. You guys rock!

So, onward to the story!

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Chapter 6:

**The Robinson Duo**

Cornelius did nothing but stare at Wilbur in disbelief - a stare which morphed quickly into a glare. Wilbur gulped and gave a sheepish grin. Franny didn't notice; she was waiting for Eloise's reaction.

The ginger haired beauty looked slightly unconvinced, then suddenly errupted into uncontrollable laughter. "Oh really, Franny! I must admit, you had me going for a second there. But seriously, this only proves my point further."

"What are you talking about?" Franny asked, still unaware of Wilbur and Cornelius's silent stare down.

"This has got to be the most crazy stunt you've ever pulled, Framagucci. Dragging one of your brothers into this so he can pose as your date." Eloise continued her laughing.

"My brothers?!" Franny's nose scrunched up. "Eww! You think _he_ is my brother?." She gestured at Wilbur.

"Okay Franny, game over. He's totally one of your brothers. Either that or a cousin or something."

"He's not related to me!" Franny exclaimed. Wilbur and Cornelius flinched as her voice rose to an uncomfortable level.

"Are you kidding? There's totally a resemblance." Eloise put her hands on her hips.

Franny whirled around and gave a good look at Wilbur, her head right in his face.

"Do you mind?" Wilbur asked moodily. "Some personal space." Deep inside, however, he was slightly fearful. What if she did see a resemblance? How was he going to respond to that?

Franny still studied Wilbur. He did look kind of like he could be her brother, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. Lots of guys looked like her brothers. Plus, if he was a relative, she would've known it.

She finally said, "I don't know what you think, Eloise. But I can tell you he is definitely not related to me."

Wilbur sighed in relief.

"Though I am curious to know what you're doing here, _Wilbur_." Cornelius spoke for the first time. Wilbur blinked twice. Now, even as a seventeen year old, Cornelius sounded just like his father.

"Wait ... you _know_ him?" Franny asked Cornelius.

"Uh, well ... errr," Cornelius tried to cover himself, "Yes ... yes! Wilbur and I go back quite far actually."

"More like we go forward," Wilbur muttered under his breath. Thankfully, nobody heard him.

"Really?" Eloise and Franny asked at the same time.

"Yeah," Wilbur spoke, coming to Cornelius's aid. "We're buddies. But I had to ... uh, move away." Just then, Wilbur put an arm around his father. "So, how you doin', buddy? What have you been up to, friend I haven't seen in such a long time?"

Cornelius pulled away from Wilbur's arm. "Just tell me what you're doing here." He asked firmly.

"Ah, yes! Funny story actually. You see, I was in the neighborhood ... _if you know what I mean_...and I decided to stop by and see how you were doing. I have so many _questions_ for you."

"Uh huh," Cornelius crossed his arms. "And you hunted me down."

Wilbur raised his hands defensively, "Hey, Gram - err, I mean - _your mother_ told me where I could find you."

"Of course she did."

Franny cleared her throat impatiently. "Well, I'm sure you two can have plenty of time to catch up later. Right now," she grabbed Wilbur's arm and dragged him toward her, "Wilbur promised me a dance."

"What?! I didn't - OW!" Wilbur cried in pain as Franny elbowed him in the ribs.

"Yes, of course you did. Don't you remember?" Franny said sweetly, batting her eyelashes at Wilbur. "And it was just so _sweet _of you too!" She emphasized the word "sweet", and glanced back toward Cornelius. It had a good effect; he looked alarmed. But not quite jealous ... yet.

Eloise shrugged her small shoulders. "Well, as long as you're going with Wilhelm..."

"Wilbur!" He corrected, gritting his teeth.

"Whatever. As long as you're going to dance with him, Franny, I think I'll borrow your inventor friend again." Eloise strutted up to Cornelius and put her delicate hand on his chest, then she turned back to Franny. "I'm_ sure _you won't mind."

Hearing this, Cornelius immediately cleared his throat. "Uh, excuse me. I have to, uh ... may I have a word with my friend Wilbur here? In private?"

"Cornelius, c'mon. What's the hurry?" Franny asked urgently.

"It's important, trust me." He told her. Then, taking Wilbur by the arm, he said, "Excuse me."

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"What on earth was all that about?!" Cornelius was shouting at Wilbur.

"Hey! Don't look at me! I'm just as much in the dark as you are. But if I'm not mistaken, I think my own mother was just hitting on me. Gross!" Wilbur made a face in disgust.

Both boys were now in the men's restroom. It was the only place they could go to have private conversation.

"Now let me ask you the million dollar question of the day. What on earth are _you_ doing here?!"

"Gee, feel the warmth." Wilbur responded sarcastically. "I thought a father would be happy to see his only son - heck, his only _child_."

"I would be perfectly happy to see my son on any other occasion. But why did you have to pick now. Of all nights!"

"Hey, how was I supposed to know that this was an important night? If I had known, I wouldn't have come at all."

"Don't you _get it_, Wilbur?" Cornelius asked. "You might have severely damaged the time stream. Your existence is probably at stake at this very moment."

"Pfft, no way!" Wilbur dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. "If I was in any trouble, wouldn't I be, like, fading already? Or I would already be gone with a gust of the wind." He shuddered as he remembered what it was like the last time he was erased from existence.

"Okay, so you're not disappearing. But we've still got a big issue on our hands." Cornelius paused, "And you still haven't answered my question."

"All right, all right," Wilbur gave in, "I came here to ask you for some advice."

"Oh, is that all?" Cornelius asked sarcastically, "What? Was it too much of a hassle to ask me back at your house?"

"No," Wilbur growled, "It's just ..." He stopped suddenly.

Cornelius became alarmed. "Wilbur, what's wrong? Did..." he gulped, "did something _happen_ to future me?"

"No, it's just ... well, let's be honest. The kind of advice a Dad gives you is different from the kind of advice a friend gives you."

"Maybe because the kind of advice a Dad gives you is actually _good _advice?" Cornelius suggested.

"C'mon, Lewis! I'm being serious here!"

"Lewis?" Cornelius questioned.

Wilbur shook his head. "Ugh, for some reason I keep thinking of you as Lewis. I mean, what am I supposed to call you? Cornelius? Dad? El Padre?" He asked.

Cornelius sighed, but smirked slightly. "You can call me Lewis if you want. But Franny only knows me as Cornelius so..."

"Say no more, I got it!" Wilbur chirped. "Lewis when we're alone, Cornelius when we're out in public."

"Yeah, that works," Cornelius shrugged. "And now..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. What am I doing here? Well, see, I came here for your assistance in a very pressing matter."

"What kind of 'pressing matter'?" Cornelius asked suspiciously.

Wilbur sighed. "Okay, look. There's a new guy at my school and I know he's no good, but he's asked my friend Alexia out on a date, and she's gone all gaga over him, even though I know he's bad road, but she won't listen to me unless I prove it, so I'm going to need some sort of spy glasses or something, and maybe I can snoop on him and find out what his deal is before he takes Alexia's heart, throws it on the pavement, smashing it into a thousand pieces and ..." Wilbur paused, panting slightly, "Yeah, that's about it..."

"Uh-huh," Cornelius said slowly, trying to take in every thing Wilbur said. "Future me wouldn't help you, so you came to me."

"Yeah, pretty much." Wilbur admitted, "But c'mon, Lewis. I mean, this should be a snap for you. If I'm correct, you've already invented quite a few things already, and you've graduated college. And I figure that you'd jump at the chance to help someone, because..." Wilbur paused slightly, giving his father a sweet, but serious look, "...that's the type of person that you are."

Cornelius broke out into a huge smile. "Thanks Wil," he said.

"Ah, don't mention it." Wilbur said, sporting his contagious trademark grin.

"You know, I've really missed you." Cornelius admitted.

"Really?" Wilbur asked. "Well, that's understandable." He smirked. "But don't your friends here keep you company."

Cornelius' grin faded. "Actually, I, uh ... don't have too many friends. Well, except for Franny, and I see Goob every now and then, but ... yeah...."

"Wow," Wilbur said. Suddenly, he remembered what Grandma Lucille had told him about Cornelius not having many friends, and it all sort of made sense.

"Most people only see me as a nerd."

"Aww, c'mon Lewis! You're not a nerd. You're a cool kid." Wilbur paused. "To be honest, I've kinda missed you too. Well, I mean, I have a lot of friends, but none of them are quite like you."

Cornelius didn't say anything, but just gave Wilbur a pat on the shoulder. "So we're still best friends?"

"Duh, of course!" Wilbur answered with a grin.

"Good."

There was a small pause. Cornelius gave a good look at his best friend/son, as Wilbur did the same to Cornelius. Both boys had changed since the last time they were together. Cornelius noticed that his son was starting to look a little bit more like him, especially in the face, but he still had the Robinson cowlick, not to mention his mother's soft brown eyes. Wilbur had also become slightly more muscular. Cornelius guessed that maybe his son was on a sports team at his school. Wilbur's voice was also slightly deeper.

Cornelius, however, had changed quite dramatically. Or at least, that's what Wilbur thought. He was so much taller than he was when they had met, but still very skinny. His jaw had become harder, making his chin appear more pointy. No longer did he have his round boyish face with his chubby cheeks. He looked so much more like Wilbur's dad now, and even sounded like him. But ... he was still Lewis.

Wilbur broke the silence. "So, are you gonna help me or not?"

Cornelius sighed. "I suppose I will, for old time's sake."

"Yeah, that's right! The Robinson duo is back in action! High five, bro!" Wilbur raised his hand, and Cornelius slapped it.

Then suddenly, Cornelius's mind returned to the situation at hand. "What about Franny and Eloise? How are we going to find out what's up with them?"

Wilbur shrugged. "They're girls. They're all a bit funny."

"I don't know Wilbur. They're really scaring me. Especially Franny. I've never seen her this way before."

Cornelius quickly relayed the whole story to Wilbur: from asking Franny to the dance, to Eloise and dancing.

"Yikes," Wilbur said. "Looks like someone's going to an awful lot of trouble to prove herself."

"That's exactly right." Cornelius nodded. "And I'm not sure what to do."

Wilbur then put an arm around his dad. "Now, don't worry. You've got me. Together, we'll get to the bottom of this.

"Swell," Cornelius muttered sarcastically.

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**A/N - **Yay! We finally have some Wilbur and Lewis interaction. Their dialogue is just so much fun to write! I hope they are in character enough. I figure that they both would have missed each other, and that they still are best friends.

The whole "Lewis doesn't have very many friends" thing is partly inspired by a deleted scene on the MTR blueray. Lewis tells the Robinsons that he really doesn't have many friends, other than Wilbur, because most kids find him kind of odd. You can see the exclusive blueray scenes on YouTube if you search for them; they're really funny!

So, review please?


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